The Naming of the Beasts

As anybody with pets knows, naming them can sometimes be the hardest part. They all have their own personalities, quirks, and you don't want to just give them a generic name.

Right. In the beginning, there was Buddy (R.I.P.). Buddy was a shelter dog, and he came with his name. He had enough trouble adjusting to a new environment, so his name was never changed, but it fit him. He was Dad's best buddy his whole life.



After Buddy came Loki (R.I.P.). Loki was mine. We found her in a garbage can, and brought her home. I'd wanted a cat for *so long*, and I was sick all the time back then, so we bonded right away. At the time we got her, I was big into Norse mythology, and I have this affinity for trickster gods. (and Tricksters who are really Archangels in witness protection, but that's another issue...) She was devilish and a *huge* trouble maker. So I named her Loki.



Then came Yoda. She was a shelter cat, and we decided to call her Yoda because, well, we're all Star Wars fans, and as a kitten, her ears were insanely disproportionate to her head. She grew into them though...



Then came YumYum. She's another shelter cat. At the time, I was reading the Cat Who...series, and YumYum has that Siamese cat yowl. (also, she's a bit of a pig...)


For my sister's birthday one year, we picked up Piglet. Piggy is a chihuahua that we got from a rescue. She was just this little tiny puppy, and because her fur was still puppy thin and translucent, she looked pink! She snorted when she ate, and due to a birth defect, her little stub of a tail kind of corkscrews a bit at the end. So Piglet.




My mom got Chewy that same year. She's a Pomeranian, and her full name is actually Chewbacca. Again, Star Wars fans, and since Yoda is kind of my mothers cat...plus, Chewy is, obviously, very fluffy and furry. Though we didn't know it until a bit later, Chewy is also a *chewer*, so the name worked that way too.



Baby was my birthday present. He's a Shiba Inu, which is basically a miniaturized Akita. I've long wanted an Akita, but at the time we didn't have a fenced in yard, and it didn't seem fair to have such a big dog and not have room for him to run. So we got Baby, who was only supposed to get to 25 lbs. Turns out he's a bit of a throwback to the Akita side, because he's 35 lbs, and much larger than Shiba Inu's are supposed to get. I figured, since he was mine, that I could name him whatever I wanted to. But every name I came up with was vetoed, and it took so long to name him, and we'd been calling him 'baby dog' in the mean time, that he decided that that was his name. So he's my Baby.


Munchkin is the orange cat in the picture below. He was brought into my work by one of the photographers. Her sister had found him in a ditch. At the time, he was so small that he literally fit into the palm of one hand. I brought him home when everybody else was out, so that they were confronted with his cuteness, they had no choice but to accept him! I named him Munchkin because he was so tiny, but we call him Munchy. He likes to eat paper, and has actually stolen, off of peoples plates, a pop tart, half a sub, and a chicken breast.

Mini is the black cat in the picture. She came with Maxi, from the shelter. We got them both after Hurricane Charley, and at the time we were housing my friends cat Isis because their roof had been torn off. Isis was a pure black cat, and when you put the two of them together, it looked like Mini was Isis's kitten! So we called her Mini Isis, or just Mini.

Maxi, below, is a *huge*, muscular cat. I suspect that he's actually part dog. :) His full name is actually Maximus Rex. (Guess who named him....) Because he was so much bigger than Mini, and he has this attitude that he's the head honcho, and watch out. :)



I believe you're all familiar with Tractor, who came to live with us not that long ago. He's another rescue dog, and he came with the name, but it just fits him somehow...


Next is Rocket, the rooster. Who also came with his name, and really, what else do you call a rooster?


Which brings me to the reason for the post. Meet the newest member of the family:

She doesn't have a name yet. My sister says that someone at her work found her under the hood of their car. She's been to the vet, and is about 6 weeks old, and healthy. We've got a list up on the fridge of name suggestions. My Dad suggested 'Penzoil', with 'Penny' for short. I suggested 'Ripley' and 'Newt' (a million nerd points if you can guess what movie I was watching the night before we got her). 'Penny' is actually growing on us, but we haven't reached a consensus just yet.